AH-64D Apache Longbow

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April 13, 2006 It hardly seems fair really. As if the AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter isn’t scary enough on its own, it has now demonstrated the ability to control an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) weapon payload. Boeing demonstrated the capability recently at its Mesa, Arizona, facility, home of both Apache helicopter production and the company's Unmanned Little Bird (ULB) UAV technology demonstrator used in the milestone test. During the test, the Apache Longbow, the AMUST-D aircraft, took control and commanded multiple payloads on the unmanned aircraft, an A/MH-6 derivative in development by Boeing known as Unmanned Little Bird. The Apache was on the ground during this engineering phase of remote weapons control while the ULB was several miles away.